AIB execs see bonus shares rise fourfold in value
Sunday November 22 2009
NEW AIB managing director Colm Doherty and other execs at the under-fire bank have seen the value of their bonus shares awarded in March rise more than fourfold.
These shares are now worth €140,000. Dividends worth €52,904 on the shares were also paid out, according to an AIB spokesman.
Under the bank’s 2005 performance share plan and bonus scheme, Mr Doherty, outgoing CEO Eugene Sheehy, retail boss Donal Forde, finance chief John O’Donnell and a number of other high rankers were awarded 82,000 shares out of a possible 182,000 up for grabs under the terms of the scheme.
Around 5.3 million bonus scheme shares — now worth €9m — were paid out to 526 AIB staff last year. The shares were awarded at a price of 42¢, just two days before AIB shares sank to their all-time low of 27¢.
Last Friday, the shares were worth €1.70. Mr Sheehy’s bonus shares are worth over €44,000. Mr Doherty was awarded 24,932 shares in March under the scheme, with 13,783 lapsing. His remaining 11,149 shares are now worth €20,000.
The value of these shares has fallen recently as Irish bank shares tumbled on fears over bad debts and the spectre of nationalisation. Meanwhile, banks have had to divulge details of their pay practices to the Financial Regulator.
In a recent questionnaire sent to Irish banks, the regulator asked them whether or not they had a committee in place to oversee pay, if an individual’s pay was linked to the performance of the bank, and “what grounds, if any”, could lead to the postponement of pay or bonuses.
The questionnaire also asked banks if their remuneration committee reviewed the pay of individuals involved in audit or risk management, how often pay policy was reviewed, and by whom, and if any external consultants gave advice to the bank on pay.
- NICK WEBB and LOUISE McBRIDE
